Who likes selling knives?

[tongueriver]

I am not really crazy about it but it is one of those things that I must do. It is in that category of fixing the plumbing, working on the yard, etc. I really enjoy buying knives. Why should this be different? I bet there are some interesting opinions on this subject. I just finished piling up about thirty or so very nice Schrade knives into a cardboard box and ready to put on our Exchange or whatever we call it. Took all afternoon. I figure maybe a year or so. Then I have another batch even bigger. And those are just the Schrades. It is a race against the Grim Reaper, at my age.

[Railsplitter]

I might be the minority but I enjoy selling knives that I’m ready to move along.

It keeps my collection from becoming mundane, it keeps me active in the hobby if I’m not buying, and it gives me money to buy more knives.

I like the “buy, sell, and trade” aspect of the hobby.

[kootenay joe]

"It is a race against the Grim Reaper, at my age."
Yes for me too. But the problem is we don't know if we have days or years left to enjoy our knives.
My children have no interest in knives, lead very busy lives and live on other continents. They will not take the time to pack up and ship knives to someone who can sell them. The local thrift store will get hundreds of very collectible knives.
So better i sell them before Mr. Reaper calls my number but i find it hard to lt go of knives i really like. And i really like all of them.
But once i can bring myself to part with a knife i enjoy the selling process. I sell by posting in the AAPK "For Sale" forum and i then get to meet other AAPK'ers and maybe sell them a knife.
I try to price at a point that the buyer will feel is a good deal and will be happy. Having a happy buyer gives me a sense of happiness too and this is a part of the overall enjoyment i find in knife collecting.
I see knife selling as a natural part of knife collecting. We all eventually get to be sellers.
But it does involve a fair amount of time. Takes me about one hour to properly pack up and address the knife package. I try to make sure it can withstand 'postal trauma'.
kj

[tongueriver]

Well said, Roland. I am liking the comments.

[rexstubbins]

I hate selling knives (unless I don't like the knife.) Although at times it has been a necessity just to pay some bills. Right now thankfully I can start to buy some back.

[Gunsil]

I'm in the same boat as Cal and Roland, I have accumulated well over a thousand knives in the last sixty years and have no family interested in them. The joy was collecting them, and I still do buy on occasion, just can't stop. I began selling at knife shows 7-8 years ago, I had always imagined I would be behind the table at shows one day. I have become well known in the east coast shows and made a lot of friends, but I have discovered that at the rate I sell them I will have to live to at least 150. Many shows have closed down, I only get to do 3-4 a year. Yes, I get seller's remorse when one of my really nice and/or rare one goes, but I can't put knives in my gas tank, trade them to the utilities company, or eat them. So I sell. I have other collections than knives, have begun selling some of them too but it goes slowly. A collector friend ( doesn't collect knives) asked me what will happen to all my goodies when I die. I replied perhaps a little morbidly that when I'm dead I won't care what happens to my collections although I have given my younger sisters the names of auction houses who specialize in the items I have. (Voyles" is not one of them). So I sell at a slow pace and hope for the best. One thing I see from shows is that I am selling more of my really good knives faster than the mid-range knives even though lots of the good ones have gone for over a grand each. This will eventually leave me with no fantastic knives and lots of more common stuff.

[tongueriver]

"This will eventually leave me with no fantastic knives and lots of more common stuff." Dang. I am looking at that as well. I have 500 that won't hardly pay the postage/inflation/tape/box/paypal fee/trip to the p.o. and then the buyer wants to dicker. I plan on dying with the really special ones and giving my wife the contact info for the places to send them, as Gunsil has suggested. Well, stay tuned, as I am slowly putting some up that I think members might like. Nothing too expensive.

[Railsplitter]

I'm just the opposite. Since I have nobody to leave my knives to, I would rather cash in on the valuable ones while I'm still alive. Might as well enjoy the cash myself rather than leave them to someone who doesn't know or even care about the their value.

I've sold a few knives that were difficult to part with but I didn't want them in my collection because of their value. I'm glad I got the cash for those while I had the chance. My wife, who will be responsible for whatever I leave behind, will probably take the first offer she gets on any knife, regardless of its value. That's just the way she is. And that's if she doesn't just give them away.

For those reasons I'd rather leave behind a $200 collection than a $20,000 collection.

[QTCut5]

I used to enjoy selling; much like Rick, I felt it was part and parcel of the knife collecting game. And I'll admit, it was fun when the (tax-free) money came rolling in. But when I started really collecting with a focus, as opposed to accumulating anything and everything that caught my eye, I lost all interest in the selling aspect because at that point my knives became more like a "family" instead of merely a bunch of interesting individual items with no significant connections.

I still have knives which are not part of my "collection" per se, but the hassle required to sell them (other than to friends and/or other AAPK members through the forum) is simply not worth my time and trouble anymore...not the least of which being all the worry associated with shipping and the stress of trying to please exceptionally picky or demanding buyers (of which there seems to be more and more) who expect perfect condition, exhibition grade, highly collectible knives for essentially the same price as Pacific Rim made knives.

As for what happens to my knives after I die...well, as much as it goes against my nature to leave money on the table, I've already left instructions in my will as to which knives I want put in the pine box along with me (mainly my ivories) to accompany me in the "afterlife" in the same tradition as many ancient cultures (Vikings, Mayans, Egyptians, etc.). The rest of them will most likely end up in antique stores, pawn shops and flea markets where, hopefully, they will be discovered by future knife collectors and bring them as much joy as they once brought to me.

[zzyzzogeton]

Like selling? Nope. I have a really hard time of selling knives. I've sold less than 100 knives. I've given away nearly 3X that many.

Since I have over 4000 sharp/pointy objects, I need to start thinning the herd to a manageble level. But I keep finding knives that "speak" to me.... "BUUUUUYY MMMEEEE!!!! BBUUUUUYYYMMEEE."

One of my nephews has an interest in them but he's busy with real life right now. He has told me to make sure and label them because he doesn't what they are just looking at them. I at least have him trained to the point he knows the difference a sword/saber, a bayonet and hunting knife.

[kootenay joe]

QT, good post. You say you don't want to sell because of the potential of "hassles". I have sold quite a few knives using the "For Sale" forum here at AAPK and i cannot recall there was ever any 'hassle'. So far everyone has been straight forward and pleasant to deal with.
If you have not used the "For Sale" forum give it a try. I enjoy posting knives for sale there.
kj

[QTCut5]

Roland, like I said...I only sell to friends and other AAPK members through the forum. Done it a number of times and never had a single problem.

As for the hassles I mentioned...I should have specified that those were in reference to selling on eBay (which I no longer do...but would if I absolutely HAD to sell a knife that for some reason did not sell on AAPK).

...I have over 4000 sharp/pointy objects...But I keep finding knives that "speak" to me.... "BUUUUUYY MMMEEEE!!!! BBUUUUUYYYMMEEE."

You, Sir Z, are the very definition of an aichmomaniac! (as are most of us here, I suppose )

Like you, I would rather give a knife to a friend than sell a knife to a stranger.

[jerryd6818]

Like you, I would rather give a knife to a friend than sell a knife to a stranger.

That describes me to a "T". I hate selling. So much so that there are any number of those who have profited from my largesse.

[johnburrell]

I started selling knives full time in 1967. I did it so that my family’s business could manufacture them. My ancestors had been doing the same for 75 years before me. I sold literally millions of knives. It was my way of making a living. I was out of the knife business in 2006. Last year I had the fight of my life, which I have gotten through very well. Thank GOD! My treatment gave me a lot of time to think. I to have no one who would want to collect my accumulation of knives, razors and Case/Burrell memorabilia. With that being said, I’m spending many hours per day sorting, cleaning, cataloging and trying to fairly value my accumulation. My love for knives was in the manufacturing (creating) them. And certainly carrying and using them. Now I’m enjoying getting them ready to sell. Also, I envision young and young at heart collectors enjoying them for many years to come.
Regards, John

[Papa Bones]

I used to enjoy selling; much like Rick, I felt it was part and parcel of the knife collecting game. And I'll admit, it was fun when the (tax-free) money came rolling in. But when I started really collecting with a focus, as opposed to accumulating anything and everything that caught my eye, I lost all interest in the selling aspect because at that point my knives became more like a "family" instead of merely a bunch of interesting individual items with no significant connections.

I still have knives which are not part of my "collection" per se, but the hassle required to sell them (other than to friends and/or other AAPK members through the forum) is simply not worth my time and trouble anymore...not the least of which being all the worry associated with shipping and the stress of trying to please exceptionally picky or demanding buyers (of which there seems to be more and more) who expect perfect condition, exhibition grade, highly collectible knives for essentially the same price as Pacific Rim made knives.

"Q", I totally understand. Over the last 20 years or so, my collecting style has changed and focus on what I really wanted to add to my collection. 14 years ago I traded or sold what I really was no longer interested in for what I wanted to focus on.

I feel you on your statement about the hassles of selling and picky people. I have had many irons in the Fire. From 1994 until 2007 Myself and a friend of mine had a NASCAR & Diecast Collectibles Shop. We also had extra space that we would rent for people to set up consignment sales. My area is only 48 miles from the Talladega Superspeedway, so before races there are always Malls, Exchanges, and Area's at the racetrack where Vendors can set up, and we would. I gave that up and don't miss it a bit. Dealing with the public on collectibles can be fun, but you always have an element that were super extreme on condition. 98 percent of our items were new from manufacturers in sealed packs or display boxes. But some would want to Chicken eye things in pack to try and point out anything they thought wasn't right, decal, paint, paint tone, whatever and want us to come off the price. Nope don't miss it a bit. And Yes, We also used to do Ebay, mainly from 1997 to 2008. But yes, I have a list of what Items I want to go to my surviving Children, and to my wife. What they do with it after I'm gone......up to them.

As to the original question of this thread, I haven't tried selling in a long time, so not sure if I would enjoy it.

[Dan In MI]

I can't say if I'd enjoy selling knives. Almost every knife I have at present time is staying with me for a long while. Were I to sell any, they'd be duplicates. And I will not sell anyone a knife that I would not be proud to own myself.

I do have a some standard practices for things I do sell. I provide decent photos and never figure that a picture tells the whole story. You will never see anything I sell with that horribly vague description "condition is 'Used.'" One of the die-cast cars I will be selling shortly has a smoky/musty smell to it, and that will be stated in the description. Full disclosure and honesty are paramount to me. I could go on for days about substandard eBay listing practices, but that's best suited for another thread.

[btrwtr]

I started selling knives shorlty after I stated collecting. One of my very first purchases was a Case 10 dot 1970 board that had over 100 knives included. I bought it with the intention of selling most of them and keeping those I favored. That put me on the selling side very early in 1983. I sold retail knives for number of years as a part time business but gravitated to dealing in the old knives I love. I have sold many old knives over the years and have sold 20 or so that I truely regret letting go. All said I have no one to leave any of the knives I have collected to and must continue to sell although some will go quite reluctantly.